Contentment
by Shavon Black
Summary: Alistair and Kallian Tabris. Kallian comes to terms with her feelings for Alistair and his true identity.


A/N: I wrote this a few months ago, and published it on another site. I've been having issues with it, so I decided to post it here instead. It's rated M for being a little smutty towards the end, but not hardcore.

Disclaimer: I did not create any of these characters, plot lines or locations, events. Everything belongs to Bioware, specifically the Dragan Age game. All I did was add a personal touch to it.

Wearied from the battle against the High Dragon, Kallian, Alistair, Wynne, Leliana and Brother Genetivi trudged down the path that lead away from Haven City. The usually pensive Leliana was particularly quiet, more melancholy than usual. Everyone was still awed by the experience, even thought the battle also left them shaken. Of all the creatures they faced, this proved toughest. It left only Alistair standing, even with Wynne continually healing everyone in battle rather than attacking the provoked beast directly.

Brother Genetivi would travel with them as far as Red Cliffe Castle, then he would continue on to Denerim. He was itching to return to camp, and resume adding notes to his research on the Ashes. His feverish excitement was rivaled only by Alistair's, who was eager to see the Arl healed.

They reached the village just before dawn, and it would be another two hours before they reached camp. It wasn't safe enough to pitch a makeshift camp along the way, even for a few hours.

Eventually they made their way back to the camp. Wynne and Leliana headed to their respective tents. Brother Genitivi headed to Alistair's tent. Alistair took his usual spot by the fire, crouching close to keep warm. Kallian silently took her place next to him, grabbing a blanket from her tent, and wrapped herself up in it, even though it wasn't cold.

Alistair glanced down at Kallian, and let out a big yawn. "I'm exhausted . . . but there's no sleeping for me until I get some food." He examined a pot that was set aside by the campfire. In it he found some leftover food. Morrigan walked over to the pair.

"I take it everything went well? Did you find what you were seeking?" she asked.

Alistair looked up quickly in annoyance.

"Don't look at me in that manner, Alistair. I was just coming over here to tell you there's some leftover breakfast in that pot, and that it won't turn you into anything unpleasant, although . . ." she rolled her eyes and said this lazily.

"Thank you, Morrigan," Kallian heaped a generous scoop into a bowl, passed it to Alistair, and served herself some. Alistair tucked in and said with a mouthful, "It's not bad, cold."

They finished, and went to sleep.

Kallian slept until the early evening. She rose, and headed outside, to get a feel of where everyone was at.

Wynne and Brother Genitivi still slept, but Alistair and Leliana were up, chatting quietly to each other. As Kallian approached, Leliana gave her a warm smile, as if she was keeping a secret. Alistair's complexion seemed flushed, and he did not meet Kallian's eyes right away.

"You'll be fine, Alistair. Everything is in the Maker's hands. Just be patient and see," Leliana comforted Alistair. She appeared to have recovered from the Guardian's candid words.

"Erm, thanks Lelianna, "Alistair muttered, his embarrassment renewed.

"Good morning, well, evening, Kallian," Leliana greeted her in a singsong voice, and began humming to herself. She saw Wynne exit her tent, and walked over to chat with the older woman. She returned momentarily to fetch Wynne some food.

Curious, Kallian asked, "What were you talking about?" She gave Alistair a hard look, jealousy rising to the surface. She knew Leliana did not see Alistair in that light, but she couldn't quite help it. His distance of late was only in response to her own, but who ever acts sensibly in these situations?

Alistair returned her gaze with his own, hard look. His embarrassment receded somewhat, and his eyes softened. "Nothing in particular. Well, we were actually discussing the whole 'I'm Maric's son' issue. She's quite convinced that Arl Eamon will push for this. She's even going so far as to say that the Maker _told_ her this." Alistair said all of this somewhat distressed.

Kallian pondered this for a second, chiding herself for feeling so possessive of him. She finally said, "Would it really be so bad, Alistair? No, don't interrupt, listen for a moment. We're attempting something far more terrifying than ruling Fereldon. We'll be facing the Archdemon eventually. If you survive that, surely you can—"

"No, it's been made very clear to me early on, that my being King would never be a consideration," Alistair interrupted.

"Then don't worry about what Leliana or anyone else says. It's your life, anyway," Kallian shrugged. She switched topics, "Do you think we should travel a bit tonight, or rest some more? Ach, I shouldn't have slept so long."

Alistair was becoming more comfortable giving advice, lately. "I think an extra night won't kill us all. Or maybe it would. Besides, this last task was particularly grueling. Although, I would like to get to Redcliffe as soon as possible," Alistair paused his ramble, for a moment to see what everyone was doing within the camp. Leliana had ceased whatever discussion she had with Wynne and had returned to her tent. Sten, Morrigan and Brother Genitivi had also turned in for the night. This seemed to satisfy Alistair's indecision, and said, "Well, I guess we had better just get an early start tomorrow. Everyone seems to turning in, already."

Kallian silently watched him process everything with amusement. That was one thing she loved most about her fellow Grey Warden. He was an open book, and wore each emotion on his sleeve. It was almost as if she could read each thought that passed through his mind on each facial expression.

"Well, I guess we could all use a little extra rest," Kallian agreed. "Although, I'm not really tired, anymore." She stretched her arms above her head, and studied the crackling fire. She picked up a small bundle of sticks, and threw them on, using a longer, thicker branch to stoke the embers.

"Yes, we could," Alistair stated simply. "I'm not really tired, either. Nor am I eager to return to my tent. It's quite stuffy in there, with two of us."

"Then keep me company, out here," Kallian asked, she gazed into his eyes, wishing she never had to leave his presence. It was unavoidable, at this point. Her feelings initially developed out of response to his obvious feelings for her, but she had no ideas what his true intentions were towards her. Sometimes, she even suspected he did not realize what his feelings about her even were despite saying otherwise a few weeks ago.

He was Alistair, but he was also a human. _But you know him better than that, _she reminded herself. Human or not, he had somehow became the most important thing in her life. A reason to get up in the morning, when everything else told her to give up.

Alistair leaned towards her, his eyes grew soft, a gentle smile played about his lips. He returned her gaze, moonily. He kissed her softly, slowly, his lips lingering on hers for a few seconds.

He cleared his throat, and fidgeted slightly. "Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you." Alistair's voice broke nervously on the word _ask_. "I just wasn't sure if I should, or what the best time would be. It's just that, every time I'm around you, I feel as if my head is going to explode!"

Kallian bit her lip to keep herself from giggling. She did her best to keep a straight face, screwing up into what she hoped was a confused expression. "Um, thanks, I guess?" she replied. _His way with words will _never_ cease to amaze me, _she thought to herself.

Alistair began again, no longer looking at her. He grew serious, all underlying anxiety gone. "Here's the thing, being near you makes me crazy, but I can't really imagine being without you," he returned his gaze to Kallian. "Not ever.

"Will my being an elf affect anything?" Kallian blurted out. There she had asked the one question that had burned within her since the day he had given her that rose from Lothering.

"What? No," Alistair was taken back, but his eyes grew soft again. "Of course not," he said gently.

"I don't know how to say this another way. I want to spend the night with you. Maybe this is too fast . . . but I know what I feel." Alistair paused.

"I don't know what to say, Alistair," Kallian managed. She never, for the life of her, saw this conversation ever coming.

"I wanted to wait for the perfect time, the perfect place. . . but when will it be perfect? If things were, we wouldn't have even met.

"We sort of . . . stumbled into each other., and despite being the least perfect time, I still found myself falling for you in between all the fighting and everything else.

"I don't really want to wait anymore. I've, I've never done this before. You know that. I want it to be with you. While we have the chance, in case . . ."

"Don't talk like that. We could do this when it's all over with, right? When everything is sorted out," Kallian first thought of the task at hand, and the possibility of Alistair becoming king and the fact that she was an elf. She had difficulty trusting his words. Her mistrust was only natural, but hadn't Alistair proved himself to be different from other men, human or elf?

"What if that doesn't happen? I'd like to throw caution to the wind at least once. What do you say?" He looked at her expectantly, not with his usual puppy-dog look, but with the look of a man. There was no lust in his eyes, just a true desire to have her, something Kallian had never seen in a man before.

"Yeah, alright. Although we should probably go to my tent, as I think Brother Genitivi wouldn't appreciate . . ." Kallian trailed off, and Alistair kissed her slowly.

"Usually I'm the one to crack jokes when nervous," Alistair chuckled. He kissed her again, only parting again for air.

Alistair took her by the hand, and led her towards her tent. He kissed her, in between the stripping off and the falling of armor, gloves, and clothing onto the floor. Kallian sat down, pushing the metal and garments into the corner with her feet. Alistair knelt beside her, kissing her face, her hair, her neck. His hands ran along her back and pressed her body firmly, but gently against his.

Kallian placed her hand on his thighs, resting them on top. Alistair laid on his back, propping her on top of him, as they continued kissing and touching. His hands massaged her arms, her breasts, the sides of her hips. Kallian gripped his shoulders, and shifted her full weight on him. She felt him, his hardness, and began to shift again, but Alistair hooked her hips with his hand, and lowered her on to him. He eventually found his way in her, gripping her hips, and thrusting her forward, his back arching.

Alistair gently kissed her lips, and proceeded to roll Kallian on her side, and onto her back. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, thrusting her hips up and down. The two rocked back and forth, eventually finding a complementing rhythm. Kallian let out a gasp as she neared climax, softly moaning until its completion.

When Alistair was done, he rolled onto his side, enveloping Kallian in his arms, tightly. He kissed her forehead, and gave her a little squeeze. Kallian snuggled up to him, resting her forehead on his shoulder. When their breathing returned to normal, Alistair shifted on to his back, Kallian resting her head and shoulders on his broad chest, and strewing her leg across his. He scooped one arm around her, and the two of them fell asleep.

Dawn took her time in coming, but that didn't really matter to either of them. Kallian watched as Alistair dressed, realizing she was no longer embarrassed at seeing him naked. Alistair left the tent early, hoping to remain unseen by anyone, and to see to breakfast. Kallian always had trouble getting up, but eventually found her way out. She dressed quickly, lifting the flap of the tent, and walked outside. Only Wynne and Lelianna were up. Kallian decided to take this as a good sign. Their secret was safe for now.

"Good-morning, we made oatmeal, again," Leliana greeted her brightly. Brother Genetivi exited the tent, causing Alistair to blush slightly. He walked over and began taking it down, packing up for the return to Redcliffe Castle.

"Did you sleep well?" Wynne asked. The knowing look in her eye dashed any belief in keeping last night a secret, but, then again, Wynne was discreet, and not given to gossiping. Or, Kallian hoped so.

She ignored that look, and replied, "Yes, I did. You? Do you want help packing up?"

"Thank you, dear, but Lelianna has already offered to do so. Just worry about your own things." Wynne rose. "I'll rouse everyone else, if you'd like?"

"Yes, please," Kallian replied. "We should head out as soon as possible.

Leliana smiled similarly to Wynne. Kallian swallowed uncomfortably, and focused on her food. She bolted the remainder of it down, and quickly packed up the tent and belongings.

. . . . . . .

On the road, Alistair and Kallian walked ahead of everyone else, in hopes of not being overheard. As soon as they were out of earshot, Kallian asked if Wynne and Leliana saw him leave her tent.

"Unfortunately, yes. The rest of the group will talk either way," Alistair groaned.

"First smart comment, and I'm feeding them to the Darkspawn!" Kallian threatened, realizing she just might actually do so.

Alistair laughed, "See this is why I love you. You're so feisty. You have what it takes to see things through." He paused thoughtfully, "You know, that is the first time I said that to you. I love you, Kallian, you know that, right?" Alistair chattered on like a school boy, so giddy he was.

He began to reach for her hand, but restrained himself, when he realized she didn't respond to his declaration.

"I love you," he said again, and let it go. The two walked contentedly, side by side.

After awhile, Kallian broke the silence. "Do you ever wonder what we'll be doing, after this, once it's all over, and we survive, that is?"

"Whatever it is, I hope it's being with you, wherever you are. Although, I suppose I'd like to find Duncan's hometown, and construct a memorial to him. Perhaps we can help rebuild the Grey Wardens in Fereldan. Once Loghain sees justice, that is," he spat those last words bitterly.

"I like that idea, traveling with you, building a memorial to Duncan, seeing Loghain hang. Or worse," Kallian mused. "Although, I'd like to be with my family and friends for awhile, in the Alienage, before leaving again. I get homesick sometimes. Actually, all the time," She admitted.

"We'll set everything straight, or try, anyway," Alistair reassured her. "We shouldn't be more than an hour from Redcliffe, at this point."

Alistair slowly took her hand. From behind the, they heard Oghren, "Oh, ho!" but ignored his perverted remarks.

"I love you, too," she whispered. Alistair acknowledged that he heard her, gently squeezing her hand. They continued in this manner, leading their company to Recliffe. For now, all was content between them.


End file.
